What’s your favorite brand of BIFL cookware for induction?
I'm looking to upgrade my kitchen with industrial-quality pots and pans. After about a month of searching, I came to the conclusion that the most important requirements are:
- 3-ply (or 5-ply). Fully clad (not just the bottom disc).
- 18/8 or 18/10 stainless steel on the inside
- 18/0 (or 200-grade or 400-grade) magnetic stainless steel on the outside.
- Thick layers of metal (ideally >= 3mm of aluminum)
- strong, serviceable rivets on handles (not welded)
- Handles on both sides of the pot (helper handle)
- Handles have a hole in them, for hanging
- Fits a 28 cm (or 11”) lid (easily replaceable standard size that’s interchangeable between metric and dumb units)
- Top rim should either have a pour spout or flared lip, for easier pouring
- NSF certified
From what I’ve read, stainless steel isn’t a very good conductor (NIST says that aluminum transfers heat 16x better than aluminum). But stainless steel is a better surface to cook-on, because it’s less reactive and won’t absorb flavours. So, 3-ply sandwiches a thick aluminum layer between two different types of stainless steel (nickle-free [eg 18/0 or 200- or 400-grade] on the outside, which – though less corrosion resistant -- is important for induction) and either 18/8 or 18/10 on the inside.
5-ply is also a thing, but my research suggests that it doesn’t really matter how many layers. What’s more important is the thickness of the material.
And that’s why I’m here. Because, confidingly, the manufacturers of these pots don’t seem to even know how thick the layers of their 3-ply cookware is!
Ideally I’d just find the technical specifications of their cookware on their website, make a spreadsheet, and then buy the one with the thickest material (or close to the thickest, depending on my trade-off between quality vs weight & cost).
But I’ve called maybe a dozen manufacturers, and none seem to know the specifications of their own cookware :(
So, fediverse, I ask you: does anyone know what the thickness of the layers in these manufacturer’s 3-ply cookware is? Otherwise, what’s been your experience? How do you feel about these brands? Is there some other one (not listed) that you prefer?
- Browne Thermalloy
- All-Clad
- Made-in
- Tramontina
- Cuisinart
- Other?
Edit: I should be clear that I’m specifically asking about 3-ply or 5-ply stainless steel cookware. This is for a community house, so I need something that can be (ab)used by housemates who don’t know or care for the seasonings on the pans. And I don’t want cast iron, because it’s more likely to break the glass-topped induction cooktop.
14 Comments
BevsDad@lemmy.ca · 4 pts · 11d
My mom got me a set of Bergner three-ply stainless induction pots nearly a decade ago and I have no idea how I'd ever break them. Been bouncing against eachother for three years and 20,000km in my sailboat without any dents.
3mm thick fully clad and big rivets but they don't seem to make any with helper handles.
Some of the Canadian made Meyer stuff seem to fit most requirements as well. I wonder if their P.E.I. office might be able to answer your questions.
maltfield@slrpnk.net · 2 pts · 11d
I thought Meyer was one of those mega corp crap brands?
BevsDad@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 11d
Mmm I wonder if the Canadian factory also switched to making crap after Meyer bought it years ago.
swicano@programming.dev · 3 pts · 11d
How big are your induction coils? My stove has unreasonably small (for the price) coils, so my pans all have a cold outer rim because the lateral heat conduction isn't high enough. If yours are also small, consider getting pans with a bottom that matches the coil size (like a flat bottom wok) rather than a huge 12 inch skillet that's 40% cold, or at least consider paying extra for higher thermal conductivity (copper?) For your wider pans' bottom surface
AA5B@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 10d
Yeah size is everything for induction. It’s important to note that only the part of the pan directly on the coil gets hot.
I don’t know if a full clad conductive layer even helps, since the same is true of the few aluminum pans I have. The sidewalls and any part of the bottom protruding past the coil do not get hot enough to cook with.
As a tip: with induction I use lids a lot more. For example a fried egg doesn’t really cook on top without a lid. Similar to cheese on a cheeseburger. Need a lid
maltfield@slrpnk.net · 1 pts · 11d
1x 28 cm coil + 2x 18 cm coils + 1x 14 cm
It replaces a gas range whose flame diameter is pitiful by comparison, but nobody with gas complains about this. I assume a 3-ply pan with a thick aluminum middle should eliminate that concern, since it'll transfer the heat effectively through the whole pan -- even if it's just a small center circle flame.
Which pans do you use? Is it clad with aluminum? If so, how thick is the aluminum layer?
swicano@programming.dev · 1 pts · 10d
My coils are all 6 inches (16 ish cm) and it happens on all my pans, I've got an aluminum pan (probably on the order of 4mm thick) with a 'induction wafer' added, and a le creuset 12 inch braiser
Sounds like you don't have that issue though, in that case I would suggest to still go for a relatively cheap non-stick, no non-stick coating can be BIFL. And I like my flat bottom carbon steel wok a lot more on the induction range than I ever did on gas, so consider one of those
Chaf@slrpnk.net · 3 pts · 11d
I can't help with stainless steel pans, but just wanted to add my two cents to
I've been using cast iron pans on glass-topped (induction or not) cooktops with no problems whatsoever. I don't see how they would cause more or less damage to the glass surface than other pans.
But I do understand that they're not very suited for shared usage with housemates that don't take proper care of them.
AA5B@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 10d
While I do have cast iron skillets for my induction cooktop, I get nervous about
Chaf@slrpnk.net · 2 pts · 10d
Sure, those are valid things to get "nervous" about, but that's also possible with other pots and pans. Usually cooktop glass is hard enough to withstand metal moving on top of it, as long as you don't deliberately try to scratch it.
As for the abrasiveness, I have a cast iron pan that's coated with I think enamel at the bottom only. Not sure how common that is. But I also haven't had problems with the ones that are not coated.
The weight is definitely a good point - handling them is a bit more difficult than the "lighter" pans, that can't be argued away.
maltfield@slrpnk.net · 0 pts · 11d
Have you ever dropped a cast iron dutch oven half a meter onto the glass-topped induction cooktop?
Nouvellalia@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 10d
I don't fling my full cast iron dutch oven around 2 feet above my glass-topped induction cooktop. I'm not strong enough to do something so nonsensical, safely. But, if you have to do that as a mattter of process, you have reason to be concerned.
As for your question on 3-ply pots, all-clad is phenomenal. You don't need the 5-ply. Just make sure your roomies know not to throw any sandwiched metal pots in the dishwasher.
Chaf@slrpnk.net · 1 pts · 10d
Haha, okay, if you're juggling with your pans... But I also wouldn't recommend doing that with other pots and pans, I don't think the cooktop would handle them that much better.
AA5B@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 10d
While I can’t help with the data you seek, I can recommend preferring 3ply
One of the features I never considered was weight. When I ditched my non stick pans for something more permanent, I got